review – Page 27 – Luv Saving Money

Get Cash Back AND Give to your Favorite Charity with Giving Assistant

You guys know I love my cash back sites. I have several that I use fairly regularly. I like to jump between two or three of them because one might offer more cash back than another at the same store. Other than that though, I can’t really tell you the difference between the sites and why I think one is better than another. I was to a point where I didn’t really think I was going to sign up for anymore until I found GivingAssistant.org

Giving Assistant is a cash back site yes, BUT, it also allows you to easily donate to your favorite charity as well. When I signed up I really thought there would be a few hand-picked charities that weren’t even local that I would have to choose from. That’s not the case. I was actually able to choose my local food pantry as my charity. I live in a small town, that blew my mind that I was able to do that!

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It’s not just a few stores to shop through either. You guys! You can get 4% cash back for shopping at Etsy through Giving Assistant! None of the other cash back sites I use give cash back at Etsy!!

As a blogger I use GoDaddy services. I have my URL, web hosting, security, pretty much everything through GoDaddy. Giving Assistant offers a whopping 15% cash back when you purchase GoDaddy product through Giving Assistant. That’s gonna save me some serious money!

With the holidays coming up, I know I’ll be spending some money at Walmart. Giving Assistant offers 4% cash back when you shop Walmart. You know I’ll save any money I can when holiday shopping for 4 kids. I did notice that not all stores participate in the donation so if that’s important to you, you’ll want to check before shopping.

Currently GivingAssistant.org has 1875 participating stores. What a great way to get your holiday shopping done and give back this season! Sign up for FREE here!

This post is brought to you by GivingAssistant. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Halloween Decor With Not-So-Scary Prices From Oriental Trading

I Love Fall! I love the cooler temps, the beautiful fall colors, the fun fall outfits, and decorating for Halloween. Halloween is definitely one of my fave holidays. Every year I add to my Halloween decor with a few pieces from Oriental Trading. They have a HUGE selection. I can find things I like in my budget too!

It’s not just Halloween decor though. You can find Halloween party supplies, trick or treat handouts, costumes, and lots more.

I kinda started myself a little zombie gnome collection. I added a couple more pieces to it. How cute are these guys! Zombie Frankenstein and Zombie Bride-of-Frankenstein

I wanted to add more to the garden so I thought, hey why not a zombie flamingo. This looks really cool. My only complaint is it sticks in the ground with two metal rods. The wholes made on the flamingo weren’t drilled very well. I was fully expecting the plastic flamingo body to be blown off it’s metal legs. I figured I’d have to pick it up once a day at least. But honestly, this guy has been out there for over a week now and I haven’t had to pick him up once.

We have two cats, their names are Soleil and Luna. When I saw the cat skeleton on Oriental Trading I just had to add it to my decor. It’s posable. You can turn the head, lift the tail, etc. It’s well made. My 3 yr old daughter likes to play with it when we’re outside. Twisting it’s head and pulling it’s tail. It held up to her and the weather so far.

skeleton cat oriental trading

I remembered as I was packing up my fall and Halloween decorations last year that I needed a few more fall or Halloween wreaths. I found this really cool spider wreath on Oriental Trading. My daughter is scared of it. My 7 yr old son says “It’s creepy”. I say then it’s perfect for Halloween.

spider wreath oriental trading

That’s not all. Last year I got this really cool Halloween pictures. I can’t tell you how many people stopped by the house asking who the man was in the pictures. I’d tell them to look closer from different angles and see if they could figure out who he looked like. Then I’d get them. Sometimes a laugh, sometimes a little start, lol good times. So I just had to add another one to my collection.

You can see the one from last year on my vine account or check out my Halloween post from last year. Guys I got all this cool stuff to decorate for Halloween for under $75! ALL of it!

I did receive the above mentioned products at no cost in order to complete an honest review. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Affordable Fall Fashion With LulaRoe Erin Solis (+Giveaway!)

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Summer used to be my favorite holiday. For years, it was summer. But as I get older I’m really starting to appreciate fall. Relief from the humidity, the beautiful fall colors, watching my boys’ football games, and of course the fun fall clothes and boots.

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A few months ago I discovered Lularoe. I started off with one pair of their butter soft leggings and now I’m a full blown Lularoe addict. I love the story of Lularoe too. Started by a single mom of 7 trying to provide for her children and balance work and home life. Lularoe only produces so many pieces of clothing in each print so if you see a print you want you better grab it. Lularoe Consultants like Erin Solis, all have their own reason for running their Lularoe business but when you buy from a Lularoe consultant you’re helping someone with their small business. Even if you have several consultants in the same area, they won’t have the same inventory. The consultants themselves don’t even know the patterns and colors they’re getting until they open the box that shows up on their doorstep. It’s so much fun seeing the unique inventories LulaRoe consultants have to offer.

Of course when you hear people talk about Lularoe everyone talks about the buttery soft leggings. But I’m gonna tell you about another fave staple for me, the Irma top. Irmas are a loose fitting tunic perfect to wear over leggings, pair with a skirt, wear with your jeans, or any other way you can think to style it. Irma is super comfy and comes in solids or patterns. Tip: when buying an Irma size one or two sizes down from your normal size. For instance, I’m usually a medium top but I usually buy a small or XS Irma top.

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This is me with a casual every day look wearing my black Irma with a pair of the buttery soft leggings. Just FYI the leggings go down to the ankles but I folded them to wear as capris this day because it was nearly 80 degrees the day I took this pic! And my 3 yr old daughter just LOVEs to be in the pics.

But Irma is not all casual, no no, you can dress her up too. I paired her with a Lularoe Cassie skirt and heels. What do you think?

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Going back to the leggings, the leggings are an awesome fall wardrobe addition. Warm, comfortable, and so many colors and prints. One Size (OS) fits sizes 2-10 while Tall & Curvy (TC) fits 12 – 22 (and some 24). Layer them under skirts or dresses, wear them with a tunic or sweater, pair them with a cardigan and your fave top, I even saw some clever post a pic with a patterned pair under a pair of shredded jeans and it looked so cool!

Here’s one way I LOVE to wear my leggings. With a Lularoe Classic T, leggings, boots, and a cardigan. Comfy and perfect for the days with a fall chill in the air.

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LulaRoe Consultant Erin Solis would love to help you find and pair LulaRoe pieces. Please support her small business and like her Lularoe Consultant Erin Solis facebook page Also talk to her about hosting your own LulaRoe facebook pop up show to earn FREE LulaRoe clothing! OR help you start your own LulaRoe business!

You can also find her on Instagram: @lularoe_erinsolis

I know you’re gonna LOVE LulaRoe. Erin wants to introduce you to LulaRoe or maybe help you add to your collection. She has generously offered to give one Luv Saving Money reader a pair of the buttery soft leggings I was talking about in your size (the color or pattern will be a surprise, how fun!)

GIVEAWAY

1 US Luv Saving Money reader will win

a pair of buttery soft LulaRoe leggings in their size (OS or TC) in a mystery color or pattern

$25 value!

LulaRoe with Erin Solis Legging Giveaway Bugs and Hisses Hop

Now hop on over to the other blogs for more chances to win some awesome prizes!!

MOBILE Friendly link – if you’re having trouble with the widget loading on your phone, use this button:

LulaRoe with Erin Solis Legging Giveaway Bugs and Hisses Ho

I received a free product for review purposes. No other compensation has been received. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Monkey Mat Lots Of Uses, Very Convenient

Monkey Mat, AS SEEN ON SHARK TANK, allows you to make your space, any place! Originally inspired by an unexpected six-hour layover at the airport (constant cringing while two babies crawled all over dirty floors!), and also by overall active lifestyles, this go-everywhere large mat in attached ultra-compact pouch gives you a clean space on the go – no more bulky blankets! Perfect for all ages, all places – park, beach, concerts, dirty airport/hotel floors, camping, hiking, sports events & more! www.monkeymat.com

I had the chance to review one. If I’m going to be 100% honest, before I got it I was thinking…it’s just an outdoor blanket right? It didn’t take long after I received it to realize how convenient and handy this Monkey Mat is!

First of all Monkey Mat is attached to it’s own storage pouch no worries about losing the storage bag! It has a convenient buckle strap so you can attach it to a stroller, diaper bag, your purse, backpack..whatever you want. It’s a water resistant surface so if baby spills their sippy cup, you place the mat on dewey grass, or whatever it won’t soak up like a sponge. It’s machine washable because, why shouldn’t it be?! The corners are weighted to help keep your mat from getting blown in the wind. Light weight and ultra compact. And additional ground loops if you choose to get the Monkey Mat stakes to ensure your mat stays in place.

The one I received was in the color “orange sunset” which was actually convenient because it was easy to spot at my son’s football games. It was so easy take with us. It seemed to draw all the kids over to play with my 3 yr old daughter. Well that and the cars she brought to play with and share.

Monkey mat

It was certainly durable. We had abuot 5-6 kids on the mat at any given time running cars over the mat, running over with with shoes, and even bringing rocks onto the mat. I tried to use the stakes. I have two complaints with the stakes though. First, they were kind of flimsy. The ground was pretty hard and I couldn’t push them in enough to make them work right or worry if the kids were going to step on them or trip on them. I’ve also already lost 2 of the stakes. There is not an included place to store the stakes. I was afraid to pack them into the zipper pouch completely because I didn’t know if it would end up poking a hole eventually through the bag. But the Monkey Mat itself is wonderful. I might be my new go-to idea for baby showers.

Even my 7 yr old liked the Monkey Mat. He’s tall for his age but you can see he could lay on it comfortably.

Money Mat 7 yr old

My readers get to save! Use coupon code “USFAM” for $5 off + Free Shipping!
http://usfamilycoupons.com/coupon.php?regionid=75&bid=12778&dealid=2716 .@usfg

I did receive the above mentioned product at no cost in order to complete an honest review. Any opinions expressed are my own.

The Benefits of Himalayan Salt Lamps

You may have seen Himalayan Salt Lamps but maybe you haven’t tried one yet. They are said to have a few benefits. They are considered “natural air purifiers”. The negative ions it emits help to weigh down contaminates in the air such as dust and pollen. There is even some information that it can help with things like depression and ADD using it as light therapy.

Himalayan Salt Lamps are made from natural crystal salt mined from the foothills of the Himalayas and can come in different shapes and sizes: natural, bowls, pyramids, etc.

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I’ve also read a little about using salt to clean a house to sort of get rid negative energies. Maybe that has something to do with the light therapy thing I don’t know.

If nothing else, Himalayan salt lamps are a beautiful addition to the decor in your home. They end up being conversation pieces. I’ve had several people see my salt lamp and ask me about it when they stop by for a visit.

I initially had it in my kitchen. But I decided to move it to my desk. It’s where I do my blogging, it’s where I spend some leisure time. I’ve noticed that before when the sun hit at a certain time of day I could see some dust particles in the area. I leave mine lamp on constantly for a few weeks now and I realized I haven’t seen the dust particles much anymore.

I also find the shape and warm glow of the lamp to be soothing . I’d love to get another one for my bedroom.

If you’d like to check out the different styles of Himalayan Salt Lamps and save some money, check this out: Go to www.HimalayanSaltShop.com and use code USFAMILY for 20% off. You can also read more about Himalayan Salt Lamps

I did receive the above mentioned product at no cost in order to complete an honest review. Any opinion expressed is my own.